I chose the nom de guerre "blackprince " for this site because his landmark statue in city square , along with the lions in front of the town hall, are some of my earliest memories of the city. Anyway it seems that after years of being covered in soot , pooped on by pigeons etc he's back in the news. He may not so black as he was painted after all!Read all about it:

It used to be said that the statue of the Black Prince had been placed in City Square , near the station, pointing South to tell all the southerners who've just got off the train to b****r off back down south!

Great stories, well worth reading. I never knew that the Statue was cast in Belgium. looking at the picture of the work man cleaning him gives more of an indication of the actual size. I wonder if there has been any cleaning done to him since 1969.?

volvojack wroteColonGreat stories, well worth reading. I never knew that the Statue was cast in Belgium. looking at the picture of the work man cleaning him gives more of an indication of the actual size. I wonder if there has been any cleaning done to him since 1969.?

Judging by the amount of bird mess on the statue it may seem that it never gets cleaned but I think it does get a wash and scrub up occasionally. Beware though about the pigeons! A couple or so months back I intended to use my mobile phone to listen to the information about the statue but as I was trying to get that a pigeon crapped on my head and face. It took some wiping off with tissues I luckily had .

I recall at least two occasions when the Black Prince and the eight nymphs were cleaned back to the metal (a darkish bronze if I remember correctly) in my lifetime - but that's a fair while. (Stands back to await gratuitous insults!)

jim wroteColonI recall at least two occasions when the Black Prince and the eight nymphs were cleaned back to the metal (a darkish bronze if I remember correctly) in my lifetime - but that's a fair while. (Stands back to await gratuitous insults!)

Still seems a rather tenuous reason to associate the Black Prince with Leeds..

Yes my thought too. As a kid I thought the name was simply because the statue was sooty black in those days. School history mentioned him at the Battle of Crecy but never any connection to Leeds - other than that his statue has occupied pride of place in City Square since 1903. Baron De Lacy might have been a more logical choice given the link to Kirkstall Abbey. We could have done a lot worse, at least we didn't get a statue of a politician. Hopefully he will remain there for a good few years longer.

It used to be said that the statue of the Black Prince had been placed in City Square , near the station, pointing South to tell all the southerners who've just got off the train to b****r off back down south!